An 18-year-old Fayette man is in jail facing four felonies and four misdemeanors after he allegedly fired two shots from a 9mm handgun through a wall and into a room that contained his allegedly intended victim along with a 15-year-old. The shooting occurred in the early morning hours of Monday, August 31, in a home on Vine Street in Fayette.

Eric Dewayne Jackson, Jr., 18, is being held without bond in the Howard County Jail. He faces felony charges of armed criminal action, first degree endangering the welfare of a child creating substantial risk, unlawful use of a weapon (dicharging), and unlawful use of a weapon (exhibiting), along with three misdemeanor counts of fourth-degree domestic assault, and a misdemeanor count of unlawful discharge of a firearm.

According to a probable cause statement filed by the Fayette Police Department, the intended victim called 911 shortly before 2 a.m. and stated that he was hiding inside a closet because Jackson wanted to kill him. He told police that Jackson had a high-powered weapon with a trigger to make it automatic.

The responding Fayette officer wrote that, upon arrival, he could hear a “woman in distress pleading with someone not to do it. A male voice (Eric Dewayne Jackson) replied I have to.”

The officer then kicked in the door and found Jackson holding a Glock 43X. Jackson dropped the handgun and was detained, according to the probable cause statement. Two spent 9mm casings were found near where Jackson was standing, and the pistol’s magazine contained four hollow-point rounds and two jacketed rounds, the officer wrote.

Jackson is scheduled to appear before Judge Mason Gebhardt in Howard County Court at 9 a.m. tomorrow (Thursday) for arraignment. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison for felony armed criminal action, seven years for felony child endangerment, four years for each count of felony unlawful use of a weapon, and up to a year in jail for each of the four misdemeanor charges.